Knee crutch pad



Jan. 13, 1953 J, H. LAMPE ET AL 2,625,453

KNEE CRUTCH PAD Filed Aug. 2, 1948 INVENTORS JOHN H. LAMPE ROBERT G.WATEL 4 WWW ATTORNEY body parts.

Patented Jan. 13, 1953 KNEE CRUTCH PAD John H. Lampe, St. Louis, andRobert G. Watel,

Clayton, Mm, assignors to Professional Specialties, Inc., St. Louis,Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application August 2, 1948, Serial No.41,915

2 Claims.

This invention relates in general to cushions and, more particularly, toknee crutch pads.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a pad for aknee crutch which protects the patients leg from chafing, surface burnsor bruises occasioned by contact with the knee crutch and the beltsthereon during medical treatment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pad which isadapted for use in various types of knee crutches.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pad for aknee crutch which is economically produced, simple in construction, anddurable in use.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a pad constructed in accordance withand embodying the present invention as mounted in a knee crutch anddisposed encirclingly about portions of the human leg; I

Figure 2 is a perspectiv view of a pad a mounted in a different type ofknee crutch and disposed encirclingly about a portion of the human leg;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the pad;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure4;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the pad as mounted in a so-calledBierhofi type of knee crutch and disposed encirclingly about portions ofthe human leg; and

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 1-1 of Figure6.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing,which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Arepresents a pad designed for use in aimee crutch I of the so-calledlong thigh type, commonly mounted on medical examining and operatingtables for support of a patients legs to facilitate examination andtreatment of the lower The knee crutch I comprises a thigh supportingsection 2, a calf section 3, belts 4, 5, provided on said sections 2, 3,respectively, and suitable means 6 for attaching said knee crutch I to atable (not shown).

The pad A is fabricated preferably of latex foam rubber, although it maybe adequately made from wool, felt, or any other suitable paddingmaterial, and contains a relatively thick, fiat central panel I havingtapered sides. The panel I is provided, intermediate its length, with atransversely extending elliptical aperture 8, and in the regionextending across the ends of the aperture 8, the panel I includes areasa, b of reduced thickness, thereby providing a zone of greaterflexibility transversely across the medial portion of the panel Iwhereby the pad A can be readily bent to conform to the surfaces of thesections 2 and 3 of the knee crutch I. Laterally extending from the sidemargins of the portion of the panel I above the aperture 8 (referencebeing made to Figures 3 and 4) are relatively thin thigh enclosing wings9, 9. Similarly, extending laterally from the side margins of the panelI below the apertures are wings or calf enclosing wings I0, I9, whichare somewhat smaller than,

but in all other respects similar to, the wings 9, 9'. The upper marginsof the wings I0, III, are separated from the lower margins of the wings9, 9', by a distance equal to the height of the aperture 8. The areas ofjuncture between the central panel 'I and the wings 9, 9, I0, Ill, areconstricted into narrow necks II, and stitched, as at I2, to form aconvenient hinge means whereby the wings 9, 9', I 0, Ill, may be easilyswung in relation to the central panel I as well as being a means topreserve the relative thickness of the panel I and the wings 9, 9', III,ID, by preventing the interior padding from moving therebetween.

Stitched, or otherwise suitably secured, to the under face of thecentral panel I along the longitudinal center line thereof arerelatively long or tube-forming loops I3, I3, and outwardly thereofrelatively short loops I4, I4, respectively, which are adjacent theupper and lower margins, respectively, of the panel I. Removablydisposed within, and extending through, the loops I3, I3. I4, I4, is abelt I5 provided at one end with a tongue I6 and at the other end with abuckle or clasp means I1. Also stitched, or otherwise secured, upon theunder face of the panel I approximately along the transverse center lineof the wings 9, 9, and I0, I0, respectively, are pairs of laterallypresented auxiliary loops 0, c, and d, cl, located equidistantly onopposite sides of the loops I3, I15, respectively, for optionallyreceiving auxil iary straps I9, I9, all as best seen in Figures 4 and 6,and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

In use, the pad A is placed within a knee crutch such as, for example,the long-thigh crutch, I

with the ,upper portion of the panel I resting within the thighsupporting section 2 and the lower portion of the panel i disposedwithin the calf section 3. The tongue 16 of the belt I5 is then drawndownwardly and secured in the buckle H which has been pulled upwardlyunderneath the knee crutch 1 whereby the pad A is snugly maintainedwithin the knee crutch I. The patients leg is then placed on the pad Ain the crutch I and the wings 9, 9', are placed in overlapping relationabout the sides and upper portion of the patients thigh. The belt 4 ofthe knee crutch l is then secured overv the overlapping wings 9, 9', tomaintain them in position. Similarly, the Wings l9, [8, are securedenclosingly about the calf of the patient by the belt 5. It is to beparticularly noted that the pad A, when disposed within the knee crutchI, will not be distorted but will lie smoothly in unwrinkled conformitywith the contours of the sections 2, 3. This is effected by leading theends of the belt i 5 outwardly through the loops I3, 13', and i4, 14',which latter loops are spaced immediately inwardly of the respectiveouter margins of the sections 2, 3.

If desired, the pad A may be used in a different, yet equally common,so-called short thigh type of. knee crutch 29, which has a relativelyshort thigh supporting section 2: provided with a belt 22, as best seenin Figure 2. When the pad A is disposed in the crutch I, thecorresponding end of the belt 55 may be led outwardly through the loop13', disregarding the loop i4, so that the belt 15 will exert itsdownward or upward pull, as the case may be, against the marginal areaof the section and not against the outwardly projecting unsupported partof the pad A. Because of its proximity to the knee when the patients legis placed within the pad A, the belt 22 will not adequately maintain theWines 9, 9', about the patients thigh. Thereupon, the strap 19, may bepassed through the loops d, d, and thus used to maintain the wings 9,9', firmly about the patients thigh, as shown in Figure 2.

Similarly, the pad A may be used in a further widely used type of kneecrutch or so-called "Bier-hon crutch 23, integrally comprising an outerframe 24 connected with a series of grilllike arcuate rod-members 25.When the pad A is disposed in the crutch 23, the auxiliary straps 19,19', are threaded through and externally around the frame 24, as shownin Figures 6 and 7, and thence around the leg of the patient. By thismeans, the pad A can be held securely and comfortably in place withoutdiscomfort or injury to the patient.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of theknee crutch pad may be made and substituted for those herein shown anddescribed without departing from the nature and principle of ourinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. For use with a knee crutch having troughlike calf and thighsupporting sections disposed at an angle to each other, each beingprovided with a belt member; a pad comprising an elongated unitarycentral panel having elongated substantially straight side margins,upper and lower pairs of wings for respectively enclosing the thigh andcalf extending laterally from and hingedly connected to the longitudinalside margins of said central panel, said pairs of wings being spacedlongitudinally from each other in the provision of a narrowhinge-forming medial section extending transversely across themid-portion of said central panel, dividing said central panel into anupper and lower section, whereby said wings are swingable toward eachother with relation to the central panel, the upper pair of wings,together with the upper portion of the central panel, being swingable asa unit toward and away from the lower portion of the central panel andthe wings therewith associated, and means for maintaining the pad withinthe knee crutch.

2. For use with a knee crutch having troughlike calf and thighsupporting sections disposed at an angle to each other, each beingprovided with a belt member; a pad comprising an elongated central panelhaving substantially straight elongated side margins and relativelyshort transverse end margins. said panel being provided with anelongated aperture extending transversely across its mid-portion,thereby dividing the panel into an upper portion and a lower portion,thigh enclosing wings extending laterally from the upper portion of thepanel and being hingedly connected thereto along the side margins, lowerleg enclosing wings extending laterally from the lower portion of saidpanel andbeing hingedly connected thereto along the side margins, thelower margins of said thigh enclosing wings being separated from theupper margins of the lower leg enclosing means by a distancesubstantially equivalent to the height of said aperture for permittingfree swinging of the upper portion toward and away from the lowerportion, and a flexible strap secured to the under face of the centralpanel, said strip extending lengthwise centrally thereof and projectingoutwardly at its opposite ends from the opposite transverse ends of thecentral panel for extending around and under the under side of thecrutch to hold the pad securely within the crutch in lengthwise-bentconformity therewith.

JOHN H. LAMPE.

RQBERT G. WATEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES De Puy Manufacturing Company,Warsaw, Indiana, Catalogue No. 18, page 74.

A. S. Aloe Company, St. Louis, Mo., Surgical Catalogue, page 545.

